I know I know. I said 237. 237 was last night. This is really 238. Honest!
A bit of small car talk and history for you tonight. There was the Honda Civic, the CRX, and Chevy Sprint. Besides those, we cover a bit of history of the small cars in the US and how everyone seems to be switching back to the smaller cars.
Finishing up, we of course have to talk a little about MINIs and just how awesome our little car truly is. Finally, a few tire tips to help you get better mileage.
And some talk about a few podcasts that we really like. Check the link on the side for the complete list. There are some great shows there, and all of them are fans of the show.
Oh yea, Crossroads was really a movie. No foolin’.
Finally, any interest in going on a cruise with a bunch of other MINI people and Whiteroofradio? Let us know over in the comments at WRR. Follow the link below to add your comment. If there is enough interest, we’ll pursue it further.
Woofcast 238: [audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://www.whiteroofradio.com/podcasts/woof238.mp3]
I can’t wait to hear how Crossroads came up. I was a huge Steve Vai fan back when I used to listen to bad music.
Still believe a SUV Mini (not talking a H2 here) is a direction that is very likely to be a good selling vehicle. However I do still consider this a mystery why Mini has chosen this path. A 180 degree change in Mini’s view and how the brand will be viewed from outside of the brand. I also believe that a large number of the Mini community will never accept a SUV in their ranks. This is likely to be a divisive move that will be profitable but will cause a other issues for the brand.
Can always hope that I am wrong but I still firmly believe that a SUV is the completely wrong direction for the Mini brand.
Thanks for the CRX props. I have to differ on one point made about the second generation CRX’s being ‘dumbed down’.
I bought a new CRX HF in 1991, the last year they made them (sniff), and sold it in 2005 when I bought my MINI. I was still getting 50mpg in the CRX on the day I sold it, and we’re talking a 14 year old car with 150K miles on it. I planned on driving the CRX until it died, but it just wouldn’t die! Luckily the guy who bought it is a CRX enthusiast, so I know, three years later, that it is still going strong.
And now I drive this monster of a car, a MINI, which sucks at gas milage when compared with the CRX. But it’s a cooler car. 😉
And I plan on driving my MINI until it dies. 😉
Guys, I just got finished listening to the show. A few things I would like to comment on:
1) Back in 1988 Daihatsu (Remember them?) had a small car offering called the Charade. This car was the first attempt by a Japanese company to market a “Premium” sub $10K car in the US. The Daihatsu Charade CLX (G100 body) 3 door hatchback had a fuel injected 1.3L 4 cyl engine that churned out 75HP. The car could be had with a 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic. It was about the size of a Classic Mini and it has generous factory equipment: Power steering, power windows, power locks, power brakes, power mirrors, air conditioning and some came equipped with sunroofs.
Americans were not convinced by the “high” price of the Charade CLX in despite of its substantial feature set, so Daihatsu stopped importing it in 1992, while at the same time, the company abandoned the US market that same year. The Charade was sold along the Daihatsu Rocky which was a direct competitor to the infamous Suzuki Samurai small ute.
2) The “classic” RWD and aircooled VW Beetle (aka as the ” Type 1″ was manufactured under license in many places around the world (Namely Brazil, Mexico, South Africa) but the last of these Beetles rolled off the Puebla, Mexico VW assembly plant on July 30th, 2003. Remember that the Puebla plant also builds the New Beetle and Jetta/Bora models. The classic Beetle was produced from 1938-2003 (65 years) and 21,529,464 of these cars were ever produced. The Beetle clearly beats Mini production by 21 years as the Issigonis Mini was not introduced until 1959.
You could purchase a brand new classic VW Beetle in Mexico for around US$7,500. Many people in the US attempted to import them but these cars do not comply with current federal safety standards (They have to be 25 years and older for legal importation).
The last Beetle built in Mexico was shipped to the company’s museum in Wolfsburg, Germany (See link to photo):
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Volkswagen_Bubbla_sista_bilen.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Volkswagen_Bubbla_sista_bilen.jpg</a>
The last beetle had a fuel injected (50BHP) engine and delivered 33MPG (Not that great given the low power output of the car and relative low weight). Maximum speed was 81 MPH.
3) The BMC classic Mini was imported into the US from 1962 until 1968. The Mini would have become a popular rival to the Beetle during the ’72 gas crisis, had BMC would have been able to meet new Federal emissions and safety regulation of 1968 that prompted its dimise from the US market.
4) In South Africa you can go into any VW dealer and purchase a brand new MK1 VW Rabbit. Yes you heard that right. The original 1975 body style is still produced and sold in South Africa along New Beetles and MK5 Golfs. The car is marketed there as the “VW Citi Golf” and quite frankly, to my eyes, is a damn fine looking car. I wish American buyers had this choice in US VW showrooms. Would you like a new MK5 or a “Classic” MK1?
See link for photo:
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:VW_Citi_Golf.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:VW_Citi_Golf.jpg</a>
Guys, for some reason I made a long post and it is not showing up… Please check. Thanks!
Great show! My daily driver is a 2000 Saturn SL1 that can get 40mpg highway. There were so many great small cars developed in the 80s and 90s that were pushed aside when bigger was better. I am appalled at the current generation of “small cars” offered that get worse gas mileage than a 10+ year old design, but it looks like the auto companies are finally coming around and giving us great small cars again.
I used to own a 1989 Honda Accord LX sedan. It had a 2.0L SOHC 12-valve carburated (The last year of carburated Hondas in the US) 4 cyl engine. It was mated to a 5-speed manual transmission with a cable driven clutch. The car was slow as molasses from the get go… ZERO torque. But it did deliver 45 MPG at highway speeds. This was a compact 5-passenger family sedan with all amenities of the time….Power windows, locks, mirror, variable assist power steeing, premium stereo,A/C, etc. It was a nice car. Paid for it $14,500 brand new in 1989 (That was a lot of dough for a family car in those days) and kept it until 1995.
I think people fail to realize that older cars made better fuel economy (Mostly Japanese imports) because those cars were lighter and di not have as much crash protection as current models. All that crash protection adds weight whether you like it or not.
In 2002 until 2004 or 2005, you could order a new MINI with the optional tape deck stereo at no extra charge. I never seen a MINI with a factory tape deck radio in 6 years but I do know they are out there.
I think this option was popular with folks that still used compact cassette tapes and ordered the dealer installed CD changer.
Great find on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VW_Citi_Golf" rel="nofollow">Citi Golf</a>, C4! I would totally buy one of those over the new Rabbit!!! The Citi 1.8iR looks like a great car.
Ok, comments have been squared away.
I guess that’s what I get for going out of town for a few days eh?
Hey DB, never a dull moment eh?
Eto, that Golf Citi car looks much better than the current MK5 Rabbit/Golf. This is one VW that I would not mind owning exactly as shown in that photo.
Oh boy, you had to bring up the Citi Golf… I nearly cried when I saw the pictures a while ago. Had owned 2 Mk1, a ’78 and a ’81.
And yes, it still is the most beautiful Golf they ever made. In a heartbeat, seriously, in a heartbeat …
Yeah, another CRX fan here as well. Just to note, I am fairly certain that they originally debuted (1984) with just a base model (DX), then in 1985 came out with the Si and HF model. The 2nd generation (1988-1991) existed all four years with a HF, DX, and Si, which I want to say were like 61 hp, 91 hp, and 105-108 hp. Unfortunately most people didn’t understand at the time why a 50+ mpg car was really necessary, so I think the HF really didn’t see an appreciable amount of sales (especially when the enthusiasts wanted the Si). In addition to my ’05 MCS, I still drive my ’91 CRX Si just about every day.